A recent story from KVUE covered something very impressive in regards to the Austin real estate market: In October, Austin single family home sales increased 38% compared to a year ago — and that’s the largest year-over-year percentage gain we’ve had in over four years. This is actually the second month in a row that has shown signs that Austin is bouncing back.

What may be to thank for this huge increase is the $8,000 first-time home buyer federal tax credit so many people are taking advantage of. A Realtor quoted in the story explained that buyers are definitely motivated by the tax credit, which was recently extended. Plus, home prices are low and interest rates are good. He expects November to be strong as well. We’ll know more in a couple of weeks when figures are released.

The numbers from October: Median sold price was $182,000, down from 2008. Homes that sold were between $100,000 and $249,000.

Search for Austin Real Estate

Prices are low and rates are good — now’s a great time to buy. HometoAustin.com is the best Austin home search tool around. Search by Zip code, subdivision, city, MLS number and even keyword to find listings. If you’re not ready to buy, you can also search for leases.

Best Cities to Buy a House Announced by Forbes

The best cities to buy a house have been announced by Forbes magazine and Texas tops the list with Houston ranking first and Austin real estate coming in a very close second.  The Texas cities are ranked so high thanks to large corporations calling Texas home, probably because of a business-friendly tax environment, which creates jobs and tax revenue.

Austin is a Best City to Buy a House

The number two best city to buy a house is Austin, Texas and it’s no surprise to us here at HomeToAustin.com.  According to the Forbes’ article, Austin’s vacancy has been falling over the past two years by over 37.5% to 1.5% in spite of a lot of building over the past few years.  However, buying isn’t much more than renting with an average mortgage payment of around $1100 and an average rent of about $770.

Best Cities to Buy a House Factors

The best cities to buy a house were chosen based on many factors.  Forbes started with the country’s 40 largest metropolitan areas and then narrowed it down to cities where home prices had appreciated over the past 24 months.  Then they examined tightening vacancy rates, as these were cities where buyers were investing in homes in order to live versus just looking to make a quick buck.  These cities are typically where the housing market is relatively solid.  Finally, they factored in the difference between average mortgage payments and average rental payments.

Best City to Buy a House For Many Reasons

Austin has many reasons other than the average mortgage costs that it was named best city to buy a home in.  There is the draw of the University of Texas that brings a constant supply of new workers into the job market, as well as research-related jobs.  There are tons of parks and lakes in and around the city, not to mention that Austin isn’t called the Live Music Capital for nothing.   You can go and catch a great live musical act any day of the week and any week of the year.

So when you are ready to purchase a home in one of the top cities for doing just that, come to HometoAustin.com and let us help.

Austin Job Market Tops in Great Places for Recent Grads

Recent Grad? Looking for the perfect place to make your home now that you are on your own? Well if you just happened to see the “Best Cities for Recent College Grads” list on Forbes.com, then you already know that Austin, Texas grabbed the number three spot on that list. We were right behind our other favorite Texas cities, Houston and Dallas. We’re guessing that the Lone Star State is looking pretty good to a lot of people right now.

Recent Grads: Plenty of Reasons to Love Austin

Austin was ranked number three on the recent grad best cities for several reasons. According to the article, not only is the average starting salary in the upper $30’s, but we also have a labor force that tends to weather recessions well. This is in part to two of our largest employers the state government and the University of Texas. There also is a major tech presence in Austin with companies like Advanced Micro Devices, Dell, Intel and 3M having headquarters or major offices here. The last reason the article gives for why Austin ranked third is that the percentage of people in their 20’s that reside in Texas’ capital city is 26. So you aren’t going to feel like the youngest person in your neighborhood.

Recent Grads Won’t be Bored in Austin

Aside from the reasons listed in the Forbes article, we think that are plenty of other reasons that make Austin a great place to call home for recent grads.

There is all the music and nightlife. Austin has more music venues and watering holes just in their downtown area than most cities have in their entire city limits. There are also a ton of great parks and lakes in the middle of and throughout the city. Finally, you can’t beat the weather. Sure it gets hot for a few months during the summer, but with an average of 231 sunny days per year you definitely aren’t going to complain.

Recession Proof Austin

According to Forbes magazine, Austin is ranked #3 in recession proof cities; right behind San Antonio (#2) and Oklahoma City (#1). The reason for the high ranking is because of low unemployment and affordable housing costs. Unemployment in Austin, Texas is 3.6% percent down from 3.8% at this time last year and the median price of a home is still under $200,000 in most areas of Austin.

Recession Proof Austin is the Place to Buy

Austin was ranked by Entrepreneur magazine as one of the top places to buy a home. Reporter Danielle Babb based her decision on the fact that Austin and Round Rock have seen incredible job growth and stable home prices even though most of the country is in a downturn. She also cited that jobs are continuing to grow here, which is a strong factor for keeping prices stable and inventory low.

Other cities that were on the list were Mission Viejo, California, Palm Beach, Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada. Palm Beach and Las Vegas were citied because of their number of foreclosure homes in 2007 making their market on the low cost end moving back up.

Recession Proof isn’t Only Reason Austin’s Great

Austin is a great city to live in with everything that is has to offer: live music venues, top notch festivals, hike and bike trails galore, rock-climbing, lake living, great shopping and great food. Within the city limits itself, you have several parks and lakes such as; Lady Bird Lake (also known as Town Lake), Lake Austin, Barton Springs Pool, Barton Creek Greenbelt, and Zilker Park.

Many celebrities and world-class athletes have made Austin their home because of the laid-back and welcoming atmosphere of the residents and because of the plethora of outdoors and athletic activities that this community supports with fervor.